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By Kamau Austin, Publisher, The Southeast Queens Scoop, AMS/Scoop Publications
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Can The Historic Southeast/Jamaica Queens Community Become The Next Black Wall Street?
"Southeast Queens Became The 1st Large Community In The US Where Black Income Exceeded White Income In The Surrounding Area," But Can It Learn And Evolve Into A Black Wall Street Like Community?"
By Kamau Austin, Publisher, The Southeast Queens Scoop, AMS/Scoop Publications
Black Wall Street was started by a very successful Black Real Estate investor from Arkansas, who grew up in Mississippi, named O. W. Gurley. He purchased about 3 1/2 square miles (or 40 acres) of real estate in Northern Tulsa, Oklahoma, which became known as Greenwood, better known today as Black Wall Street.
He purchased his land in what was called the Oklahoma land grab of 1889. Greenwood was named after Greenwood a street in the area from a place Gurley lived earlier in his life. Greenwood was located on the northern part of Tulsa on the other side of the train tracks.
He set up boarding rooms and hotels and purportedly gave loans with other prominent blacks to African Americans to buy land and homes in the affluent Greenwood area. It is said because of the oil boom in the area Gurley became even more wealthy.
According to Investopedia, also other Blacks had jobs working in the white community in roles such as "high-paying labor jobs as maids, chauffeurs, gardeners, janitors, shoe shiners, and porters." However, they became a viable economic community by then keeping their money primarily circulating in Greenwood among each other in business.
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Article On Southeast Queens Becoming The Next Black Wall Street Continues Below...
O.W. Gurley, teamed with fellow businessman John the Baptist Stradford (called JB Stradford) to develop the Greenwood area as a prosperous self contained area in Tulsa Oklahoma. Before the race massacre Greenwood boasted over 200 Black businesses in the area. Greenwood AKA "Black Wall Street," was burned to the ground and about 300 Black people it was reported were murdered.
Black Wall Street had it's own hospital, movie houses, outstanding hotels and apartment houses, stores and was a successful community of about 10,000 Black people. I've even seen accounts that some of the Black Greenwood residents were worth more than a million dollars and some even owned private plans.
However their community was to be destroyed in a race riot based on a lie where a young 17-year old white teenager Sarah Page claimed a 19-year old Black man Dick Rowland or Roland, treated her inappropriately in an elevator she was operating.
Black Wall Street had it's own hospital, movie houses, outstanding hotels and apartment houses, stores and was a successful community of about 10,000 Black people. I've even seen accounts that some of the Black Greenwood residents were worth more than a million dollars and some even owned private plans.
However their community was to be destroyed in a race riot based on a lie where a young 17-year old white teenager Sarah Page claimed a 19-year old Black man Dick Rowland or Roland, treated her inappropriately in an elevator she was operating.
Some accounts state young Dick Roland, tripped entering the elevator and grabbed Sarah Page's arm and she screamed. Tulsa had become a racist, segregated Jim Crow town, and Dick Roland knew he was in trouble. Roland ran out the building but the police arrested him the next day.
According to the New York Times, One of the Tulsa white owned publications claimed untruthfully Page was assaulted. It claimed "that day's issue of the Tulsa Tribune newspaper claimed Rowland had attacked Page and had torn her clothes."
A white mob came to lynch Rowland and Blacks, many ex-military service men, came to protect and advocate for him. A shootout occurred and a racial war and subsequently massacre ensued.
In the end the larger better armed white mob killed over 300 Blacks, wounded 800, and made over 5,000 Black people homeless. I've seen figures from 10,000 to 100,000 Blacks lived in Greenwood AKA Black Wall Street at the time.
I understand Greenwood was restored by Blacks within a few years to again feature over 250 businesses. However, whites wanting the well positioned land for business used techniques to take the land back from Blacks for inexpensive prices and redistricted the area into more of a commercial factory district.
It has been reported that when the victims of Black Wall Street were never compensated or given reparations for losing their land and homes. Today Greenwood is only 1/2 block owned largely by non Blacks.
It has been reported that when the victims of Black Wall Street were never compensated or given reparations for losing their land and homes. Today Greenwood is only 1/2 block owned largely by non Blacks.
What are some takeaways from this racial tragedy for Southeast Queens? We are living in a time of white nationalists and supremacist again exemplified by the Capitol insurrection. Also Southeast Queens, many parts also with quick access to Manhattan and Long Island, are in high demand because of them being close to the LLRR.
Ways for Blacks To Become Successful Like Black Wall Street
One of the ways we aim to keep Southeast Queens viable and cutting edge as a community here at the Southeast Queens Scoop, is to do regular articles on topics like technology, real estate, investing, and small business development.
Jamaica, NY and the larger Southeast Queens area is a strong striving, middle class, and progressive community. We all know some of the world's most successful celebrities and entrepreneurs come from this historically rich and legendary area of New York City.
In fact, I took just the top 12 celebrities from Southeast Queens, people like Russell Simmons, Daymond Johns, Ja Rules, Richard Parsons, and Joe Morton (the Dad from Scandal) and combined their net worth it is over 1 Billion dollars. Also Southeast Queens, according to the New York census and the New York Times, is the 1st and only large area in the US where: Blacks make more aggregate income than other ethnic groups in the surrounding area.
Therefore, It wouldn't be hype to draw parallels between Southeast Queens and Greenwood, Oklahoma, a suburb of Tulsa, known more in informed Black circles metaphorically as "Black Wall Street." Could Southeast Queens be equated to the modern day equivalent of "Black Wall Street?"
Both communities have their divergent upscale community features. However, really Wall Street is the sector of the US that symbolizes its capital markets.
Southeast Queens Needs More Black Businesses Finance organizations to be like A Real Black Wall Street
In my opinion the term Black Wall Street isn't really a good moniker for Greenwood, Oklahoma. Greenwood had a lot of local black businesses and professionals. It would be better characterized as an upscale Black Main Street.
On the other hand Southeast Queens has a lot of working class and middle class people who work for the NYC government, corporations in Manhattan, and small businesses in Queens. What I would like to see in Southeast Queens is more viable Black businesses in fields other than restaurants, haircare, and real estate offices. But we may have to fund them with more robust crowdfunding campaigns made possible by the JOBS Act.
I've been in business over 20 years and here are some of my tips for Southeast Queens residents looking to start their own businesses.
I've been in business over 20 years and here are some of my tips for Southeast Queens residents looking to start their own businesses.
The following are 7 Super Ways to
Jumpstart Your Southeast Queens Business
Before you go into a startup please be realistic. Over 80% (actually I've read as high as 95%) of small businesses fail within 5 years. In order to not be in that statistic learn as much about your industry and running a business in it as you can.
1. Avoid launching a business without any glimpse that it will make money - not just in your mind but in the real world. Try to avoid taking a noncritical view of your business. Especially, if you don't have a lot of capital to waste do your due diligence before starting a business endeavor as much as possible.
2. Test in consumer shows or trade shows in your industry - if there is a viable market for what you are offering and listen to feed back to see if people are willing to spend money for what you are offering.
3. Join an existing business, even if you are a volunteer - in your industry to see how they are run before taking your leap of faith. Learn what makes money in your industry and how to sell products and services with the most profit margins.
3. Gain inside knowledge on your industry - so you know the seasonal shifts which will affect your cash flow. If you can learn not only the operations of a business but the sales and marketing aspects as well you will be on much more solid ground running that business.
4. Discover how the major players in your industry operate - and see if you can model some of their behavior and how you can fill a niche better than your major competitors. Save as much money as you can before you start and get mentors in your industry.
5. Clean up your credit and try to get a good source of financing to fall back on or aggressively leap forward with whether this source is an angel investor, crowd funding source, or some reliable microfinancing sources. Create a compelling digital footprint online including an automated email follow up system, social media presence, a search engine friendly website, Google+ and Bing Local listings, and a blog.
6. Build a good team to support - you with savvy business mentors, family who can work with enthusiasm in the business, and people you trust. You can't build a successful business by yourself - you need a team.
7. Consider doing a business plan - and run it by your support group and potential investors. I strongly suggest this. By taking the steps above your business plan will be that much more informed and compelling to potential investors.
These preparatory moves will save you a lot of time and headache in the future. You will be in the elite 5% of business startups that actually make it. Kamau Austin is the publisher of the Southeast Queens Scoop Blog. If you need mentoring or consulting on starting up or expanding your business in Southeast Queens contact me at Search4Profits.com
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Posted by community events coordinator, Nzinga Lonstein Austin, is a prolific blogger who writes on the entertainment industry and issues for people with developmental and physical challenges.
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